[bede]

Sorry if this topic is a bit specialised! I'm hoping to move from the UK and find work as an Oracle DBA in NZ. Although I have only 1 year of Oracle experience, I have been in IT for nearly 20 years as a programmer and DBA. I've been monitoring the job/agency sites and there seems to be a reasonable supply of vacancies, but usually looking for people with at least 3 years of Oracle experience. Does anyone know about the Oracle job market in NZ? Also, athough IT is on the skills shortage list, is there much bias in practice against older (40+) applicants looking for technical rather than managerial positions? Any tips would be much appreciated.

[adamsat]

Hi Bede,

depending on where you are aiming to live when you actually arrive here you should have little problem getting work, although you may have to settle for contract work in the short term.

[miep]

You shouldn't have any problems. I've noticed though that for contract work you generally need to be able to hit the ground running and more experience is generally preferred for these type of jobs. Not really surprising as they usually pay (much) better.

As to age bias, no I haven't noticed that at all. The IT labour market is so tight at the moment they really don't care.

[bede]

Thanks for those replies. I've done a bit of contracting before, so that wouldn't be a completely new experience.

Judging from the ads I've seen, Auckland and Wellington are the two main locations for IT work, or is there a mini-Silicon Valley somewhere else?

[real_sunfire]

Hi Bede,

Christchurch is the other major city with a large number of IT companies.

Have a look at what job possibilities are out there but keeping in mind where you want to live. Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington are quite different and each has its pros and cons in terms of living.

Rgds.,
Nick.

[Singel]

Bede, welcome to the forum

This companies are looking for people with Oracle experience : http://www.synergy.co.nz/careers/current-vacancies.htm#ODw
http://www.sabrenz.co.nz/jobs/vacancies.asp?country=NZ&Category=Business+Analyst
http://www.sabrenz.co.nz/jobs/vacancies.asp?country=NZ&Category=UNIX

Good Luck with your job searching :cheers

[bede]

Thanks for the useful info. We'll be researching these places, but perhaps the answer would be to do a short contract in each one and then choose!

[sizzlingbadger]

My husband works for Oracle, NZ. He's a DBA with about 10 yrs experience. He knows one company still looking for an MS SQL DBA, they have been looking for someone for a while and still can't find anyone suitable.

There seems a lot of jobs out there I think it's just a matter of being in NZ to get the work. As soon as mh changed his address to NZ he had 3 calls from agencies in a matter of 15 minutes chasing him for work :-)

Good Luck, PM us if you want to ask anything further.

[bede]

When I worked in the US, companies were quite prepared to offer contracts after only a telephone interview, but I've noticed that it seems essential to be available for face-to-face interviews in NZ. Just have to wait until we can sell the house...